Snowball Of A Chance
by Aika08
Summary: It's Christmastime in Konoha, and Hinata just wants to spend it with Naruto. But when Naruto forgets to get a present for Hinata after she gets him one, he goes off to complete a mission for a special reward. Will he make it soon enough? NaruHina
1. Chapter 1

_Yes, I'm ALIVE!!!! But this is actually a late b-day gift to my best friend. It's a NaruHina two-shot, so I'll post the second chapter as soon as I can!_

_Naruto and all other things ninja-like belong to Masashi Kishimoto!_

* * *

Light fluffy snowflakes fell lightly from the starlit sky as Christmastime in the Hidden Leaf Village drew near, and the infamous "last- minute shopping" had reared its ugly head; rampant little boys threw icy snowballs at each other, innocent little girls stared with admiring eyes at their "future playthings," while the older citizens crowded the shops, surviving a mad-dash to get that last thing on their lists! But in all that, one person had managed to actually get through all of that.

Hinata Hyuga, age 15, strolled past the luminous shop windows, glancing at the many objects in the windows. Glimmering jewels connected by thin strands of gold, assortments of hot mouth-watering sweets and food, along with many more.

However, there was only one shop that, to her, made all the others seem insignificant: the pet shop. Hinata watched in awe as adorable pets started to shift their eyesight to her; puppies stood on their hind legs against the window, while tiny kittens staggered curiously to it as she brought her face closer to the window.

'_Oh, how cute!'_ Hinata though as she smiled at the adorable little things. _' I'd really like to have one, but Father keeps reminding that Hanabi is allergic to cat and dog fur....' _She stepped away from the window, even making sure to wave a timid goodbye to the pets.

As she walked around the town, she couldn't help but see all of her other friends enveloped in the holiday spirit. Shikamaru was seen lugging Ino's shopping bags that looked like they were full of bricks, while watching her drag him on to the next store; Also, Sasuke, who had finally returned, was seen walking hand-in-hand with Sakura Haruno. Hinata couldn't help but giggle at the sight of the navy-haired shinobi trying to hide a slight rosy blush with his slight arrogance.

Hinata sighed. "They look so happy together at this time of year... which just makes me miss Naruto-kun more since he left. He told me that he had something important to do and that he'd be back as soon as he can... but where could he have possibly gone?"

Meanwhile, deep in the forests of outside of Yukitsune Village, 16 year-old Naruto Uzumaki swiftly and (surprisingly) quietly skittered through the snow-blanketed pine trees. The mission was simple: "**Find the polar bear that had been killing all the villages pet arctic foxes and get rid of it.**" Unfortunately to Naruto, completing this mission was like getting a hedgehog through a balloon factory.

"Oi, this sucks!" Naruto groaned. "Why couldn't the bear be, oh I don't know, EASIER TO SEE?!?!?" As the demon ninja sailed through the trees, still making sure to keep an eye out for his target, he began to think about the main reason of **why** he took this specific C-rank mission.

–_Flashback, about 4 hours earlier–_

_Ichiraku Ramen, place of the most delicious ramen noodles that you could imagine, and Naruto's 'home away from home,' especially since that's where he was right now._ _As he sat down slurping up the hot noodles, he started to read over his list aloud._

"_Let's see; the Christmas edition of 'Icha-Icha Paradise' for Kakashi-sensei, a jade necklace for Sakura-chan, special justu ninja scrolls for Tenten, one week's vacation to Crescent Moon Island for Shikamaru and Ino, and 'Book of 1000 Exotic Recipes' for Chouji. Yup, that's everyone!" Naruto said as he put the list away in his pocket. As he continued to chow down, out of the corner of his eye, Naruto couldn't help but notice that Hinata was walking by him. _

"_Oi, Hinata-chan, over here!" Naruto waved._

_Looking up from the ½ snowy ground, Miss Hyuga saw him and started to blush. "Oh,h-hello Naruto-kun! I almost didn't see you there...." _

"_Ha ha, I guess I was pretty quiet, huh!?" Naruto laughed. He really did like Hinata a lot, but he was just too stubborn (and kind of shy)to say it to her face._

"_I g-guess you could say that!" Hinata said, letting out a cute giggle. Suddenly, she nervously started to search through her pocket. "I'd almost forgot; I g-got you a Christmas present!"_

_Naruto looked embarrassed, his whiskered cheeks turning a rosy shade. "Aww, you didn't have to get me anyth-" But he stopped when he suddenly felt something smooth and, considering this cold weather, bizarrely warm in the palm of his hand. And then he saw it– a piece of red obsidian carved into a spiral, gracefully strung by a thin chain of silver._

_Naruto was awed. "Hinata... t-this is incredible!" He held it up to the light to get a closer look, whilst the necklace glimmered in the faint sunlight. "Thanks!"_

_Putting down the pendant, Naruto quickly reached over and gave Hinata his trademark bear hug. Being the bashful girl that she usually is, Hinata's face quickly got redder and redder by the second. Somehow seeing this as a chance to give him a slight peck on the cheek, Hinata slowly started to move forward. _

_In all this excitement, however, sudden realization hit the knuckle headed ninja silently in the skull: He'd forgotten to get something for his dear Hinata. Trying to think quickly, Naruto's slitted blue eyes wildly looked around for some sort of clue as to what he should get. Suddenly, he saw it- a poster signaling for someone's help. As he squinted closer, he saw printed words way at the bottom- __**"SPECIAL REWARD WILL BE GIVEN!!!"**_

'_Perfect!' Naruto thought as he jolted up. Unfortunately for Hinata, this sudden jolt had made her fall flat on her face in the powdery snow. "Whoops! Sorry Hinata-chan, I just remembered that I had to go do something __**really**__ important, so I'll catch you later, ne?"_

_Hinata, struggling a little to get up, looked slightly saddened. "Oh, but N-Naruto-kun....."_

_But she couldn't finish her sentence, as Naruto had already started running towards the Leaf Village's entrance. Looking back, Naruto put on his confident smile and shouted back, "Don't worry; I'll be back before you know it!"_

–_End of flashback– _

The snowfall started to pick up as Naruto dismissed this memory. Clenching the familiar amulet, he kept on moving forward.

"Hang tight, Hinata-chan; a promise is a promise!" Naruto exclaimed as he dashed further on into the dark snowy forest.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Yes, at last... IT'S HERE! I can't quite put my finger on it, but I guess it was a combo of high school, laziness, and writer's block that made it so long for me to write this last chapter. Sorry that it took SO long, but here it is, so enjoy!**_

**Naruto and Hinata belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**The name "Yukitsune Village" belongs to me.... I think.  
**

* * *

The innocent snowfall that drizzled from the midnight sky had, within a span of about an hour, turned into a maelstrom of a wintry mix. The worst part of it? Naruto Uzumaki was stuck in the middle of it. Even with his winter gear on, he could still feel the blizzard tearing at his body, his fingers and face being the hardest hit.

"This is getting rough. I did know that bear would be hard to find, but I didn't think that I'd still be out here for hours-on-end." Naruto mumbled irritatingly. "But a promise is a promise; I **will not** fail this mission and break a promise to Hinata-chan, especially at the same!"

As he made this self-declaration that was soon muted by the harsh snowfall, Naruto, possibly with his heightened senses, saw a faint movement out of the corner of his slitted eye.

"Wait a sec...is that what I _think_ it is?" Taking his chances, Naruto dived down through the prickly branches and landed on one of the larger ones. Peeking his head down from the pine leaves, he could finally see what had caught his eye: it was the polar bear he'd been looking for, and by the looks of it, it looked pretty hungry!

Unfortunately, it wasn't alone. Taking a closer look, Naruto could see a petrified snow fox pup being backed up into the corner, too scared to even take a step. With no possible way to for its prey to escape, the bear snapped open its mouth and lunged forward. Suddenly, a kunai knife soared swiftly down toward the ground and landed between the two foes. With the polar bear distracted, Naruto swooped down from the trees and grabbed the shaky pup.

Naruto, making sure to set down the animal, turned his eyes back to the angered polar bear. "Alright then, you wanna play hardball?" Naruto said, picking up the snow-covered throwing knife. "Then let's play _hardball_..."

* * *

Back at the village, night had fallen, and the blizzard had finally settled down to a steady snowfall. Going further into the outskirts, we see the Hyuga estate in all its glory. All lights were out in the house, and _almost_ everyone was asleep.....

Miss Hinata Hyuga, kneeling on top of her soft and fluffy bed comforters, was leaning against her open bedroom window, feeling the slight chill of the cold winter air and sadly gazing out into the dark sky.

"H-he said that he would come back...I really hope that Naruto-kun didn't get caught up in that bad blizzard that came earlier." Hinata sighed. After all, what could she do about it? It was too dark to see anything, and the area that Naruto had gone to was probably to far away to just walk to. It seemed that it was pointless to even think about sneaking out to go find him, especially to her father's dismay...

Suddenly, snapping out of her thoughts, the violet-haired kunoichi noticed a single shining star in the middle of the darkness. Folding her hands together, Hinata closed her eyes and did the best thing that she could do at that moment: _wish._

"_Please let Naruto-kun be ok out there... I just love him too much for anything bad to happen to him..."

* * *

_

"Phew! That was a tough one..." Naruto said, tiredly cracking his neck to the side a bit. He then smirked at the sight of the dead bear, slouched over in a mix of matted fur and a small pool of blood. Of course, the bear had also did a number on Naruto, as he had a variety of claw marks and scratches all over his body. Even so, Naruto had declared it as–

"Mission: Cleared!" Naruto exclaimed. "Well, looks like I can finally go home now to–"

"Ho-ho! Very good job, young one! Very good job indeed!"

Surprised by the strange voice, Naruto turned around to see a tall old man, wearing a silver winter robe. He had a slightly wrinkled face–along with a _very _gray beard– and a kind smile that spread on his face. Looking closer, he could see a ninja headband on his head that had an engraved snowflake on it.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, a raised eyebrow appearing on his face.

"Oh? Why, I'm the leader of Yukitsune Village!" The old man exclaimed. "I've come to congratulate you on defeating the beast that's been harming our beloved foxes. You see, we figured that since it was such a simple task, the previous ninja that had come before could've completed it so easily. Unfortunately, we figured wrong and most of them had either ran away out of fear, gave up on finding it due to the constant snow we have here, or had gotten mauled within an inch of their lives." Naruto shuddered at the mention of the last thought. "But you, boy, have accomplished what the others haven't and for that, you have my thanks!"

Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly. "Aww, it was no problem at all, sir! Now, about that reward?"

The village leader's eyes suddenly got wide, and felt a sweatdrop run down his head. "Um, t-the reward?" Truthfully, there was no reward; it was just a gimmick to get the ninjas motivated enough to at least try to do the mission. Since the long streak of mission failures, the old man had thought that he never had to give a reward out! But now, it looked like he was in hot water. "W-well, you see..."

Then, out of the snowy bushes, the little fox pup from before had timidly walked toward Naruto and snuggled up near his leg. Smiling a bit, Naruto knelt down and lifted it up. Bringing it closer to his face to inspect it, the fox slightly licked his nose out of gratitude. Laughing, Naruto turned back to the old man.

"Oh, I get it! _This _little guy right here is the reward, isn't he?" Naruto guessed, looking at the leader with anticipation written all over his face.

The old man, deciding to just 'go with the flow,' grinned back at him. " Umm.. y-yes, that's correct! That little fox pup right there is your reward for the mission, so you may do with it as you please! Well, I hope you get home safely, and Merry Christmas!" With that, the village leader had walked away from the scene.

Naruto stared a bit towards the direction the man had gone and shrugged. "What a weird guy! So now..." he said, looking at the fox in his arms, " I've got a good surprise for _you_..."

* * *

It was the next morning in Konoha, and Christmas had finally arrived! People around the town were seen happily accepting gifts, celebrating in restaurants with many bottles of sake, and just simply enjoying the holiday as much as they possibly could. Meanwhile, Hinata was walking around the park, watching people open gifts and walk around together in delightful bliss.

Hinata sighed. "Everyone looks so happy, especially the one's who have someone to share their Christmas with." She looked up at the sky, feeling a bit sad. "I just wish that–" Her soliloquy was interrupted as she felt something against her right leg, looking down, she saw an adorable little silver fox looking up at her with a curious look on its face. Upon closer inspection, Hinata saw a small violet ribbon around it's neck.

"Oh, what a cute little fox!" Hinata said, gently picking it up. "But where did it come from?"

"HEY HINATA!! OVER HERE!!"

Recognizing the voice, Hinata turned around in time to see her beloved Naruto charging at her with a silly grin on his face. Expecting the assumed impact to hurt, she put her sleeved arms in defense and closed her eyes...but instead, she felt a cozy warmth surround her. Opening her eyes, she saw realized that Naruto was hugging her tightly.

Naruto looked down and smiled. "Sorry that I didn't come back in time. I just got... caught up in an errand I needed to run! So, do you like your Christmas present? I went through a lot to–" His sentence was interrupted when he found that his lips were pressed against Hinata's in a warm kiss that spread through his entire body. After a few seconds, they had pulled apart, both obviously in utter bliss.

Hinata, blushing mildly, wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you, Naruto... and Merry Christmas."

Naruto sheepishly smiled back. "Merry Christmas to you too, Hinata-chan...."

_And may it be the best for us both.

* * *

_**Hurray, it's done! Well, I hope the ending wasn't too bad, and that you enjoyed this little two-shot! Please review, as I do enjoy feedback from you guys!  
**


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